KUCI: Film School

All That Breathes / Film School Radio interview with Shaunak Sen

ALL THAT BREATHES takes us to one of the world’s most populated cities, where cows, rats, monkeys, frogs, and hogs jostle cheek-by-jowl with people where the “Kite Brothers,” Nadeem Shehzad and Mohammad Saud, care for thousands of these majestic black kite birds of prey that drop daily from New Delhi’s smog-choked skies. As meat-eaters, the black kites are rejected by the city’s bird hospitals. Against a backdrop of environmental toxicity and civil unrest escalate, the relationship between this family and the neglected kites forms a poetic chronicle of the city’s collapsing ecology and deepening social fault lines. ALL THAT BREATHES had its world premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and it is the only film ever to have won both the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance and Best Documentary at the Cannes Film Festival. Director Shaunak Sen is a filmmaker and film scholar based in New Delhi, India. His first feature, CITIES OF SLEEP (2016), explored that city through the lens of sleep and was screened internationally, earning six international documentary awards.
For more info and screenings go to: hbo.com/all-that-breathes

White Coat Rebels / Film School Radio interview with Director Greg Barker & Producer Harriet Fraser

Director Greg Barker new documentary film, WHITE COAT REBELS, is an urgent wake-up call into the corrupting influence of Big Pharma on the medical profession and the courageous young doctors and students fighting back to improve inequities in healthcare. The film revolves around the direct actions of health professionals seeking to reform a broken health care system. Many of the film participants, including UCLA medical student Neda Ashtari, belong to Universities Allied for Essential Medicine (UAEM). UAEM is a student-driven organization working to improve access to and affordability of life-saving medicines, especially those researched and developed at universities with public funding. Other health professionals featured include: Dr. Michael Fine, Rhode Island’s former Health Director, who organizes healthcare on behalf of marginalized communities; and Dr. Danielle Ofri of New York’s Bellevue Hospital.  Director Greg Barker (The Final Year, The Longest War, Sergio), and Producer Harriet Fraser stop by to talk about the critically important issues surrounding the industry’s profit over people ethos and the daunting challenge millions of Americans face trying to gain access to effective, affordable health care.
Watch on fuse.tv/v/white-coat-rebels
For more go to: rocofilms.com/films/white-coat-rebels

Descendant / FIlm School Radio interview with Director Margaret Brown

In her latest film DESCENDANT, Award-winning documentary filmmaker Margaret Brown returns to her hometown of Mobile, Alabama to document the search for and historic discovery of the Clotilda, the last known slave ship to arrive in the United States. DESCENDANT deftly examines more than 160 years of the complicated history, secrecy and speculation surrounding the 2019 discovery of the Clotilda and the seismic impact it has on the descendant community of Africatown. DESCENDANT presents a moving portrait of a community actively grappling with slavery’s legacy and fighting to preserve their heritage while examining what justice looks like in a country unwilling to fully acknowledge the evil and trauma wrought by the institutional bondage inflicted upon millions of human beings. Director Margaret Brown (The Order of Myths, The Great Invisible) joins us for a conversation on why she made the decision to go back to her hometown, why the story of the Clotilda still resonates with the residents of Africatown, the importance of Gudjol Lewis, the lasting impact that author Zara Neale Hurston’s  Barracoon: The Story of the Last ‘Black Cargo’ has had in dispelling the racist lies while resurrecting the truth about this incredibly resilient community.
To watch go to: netflix.com/Descendant

Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power / Film School radio interview with Director Nina Menkes

In this eye-opening documentary, BRAINWASHED: SEX-CAMERA-POWER, celebrated independent filmmaker Nina Menkes explores the sexual politics of cinematic shot design. Using clips from hundreds of movies we all know and love – from METROPOLIS to VERTIGO to PHANTOM THREAD – Menkes convincingly makes the argument that shot design is gendered. BRAINWASHED: SEX-CAMERA-POWER illuminates the patriarchal narrative codes that hide within supposedly “classic” set-ups and camera angles, and demonstrates how women are frequently displayed as objects for the use, support, and pleasure of male subjects. Building on the essential work of Laura Mulvey and other feminist writers, Menkes shows how these not-so-subtle embedded messages affect and intersect with the twin epidemics of sexual abuse and assault, as well as employment discrimination against women, especially in the film industry. The film features interviews with an all-star cast of women and non-binary industry professionals including Julie Dash, Penelope Spheeris, Charlyne Yi, Joey Soloway, Catherine Hardwicke, Eliza Hittman, and Rosanna Arquette. Director Nina Menkes joins us for a conversation on how and why she crafted BRAINWASHED to be seen as a call-to-action that can fundamentally change the way you see, and watch, movies.
For more go to: kinomarquee.com/Brainwashed

Unidentified Objects / Film School radio interview with Director Juan Felipe Zuleta

UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS shines a bright spotlight on Peter, (Matthew August Jeffers) a flamboyant, misanthropic dwarf hiding from the world in his shabby New York City apartment. But an unexpected visit from his upbeat—and possibly unhinged—neighbor Winona (Sarah Jay) forces him out of his shell and onto an impromptu road trip. Their destination? What she believes to be the site of an upcoming alien visitation in the wilderness of rural Canada. On their increasingly-surreal odyssey, Peter and Winona will encounter bickering lesbian cosplayers, shroom-addled survivalists, and even extraterrestrial highway cops. But the further they go and the more their trauma comes to light, it becomes clear that the only thing more nerve-wracking than being abducted is being alone in the universe. UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS Director Juan Felipe Zuleta joins us to talk about his revelatory road trip story connecting two very different people with little in common, except a gnawing sense of not belonging. Funny, sad, poignant, and fatalistically cosmic, Zuleta creates the space for two superb performances from Matthew August Jeffers (New Amsterdam, Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) and Sarah Jay (Golden Globe nominee, Flesh & Bone) in his beguiling tale of finding one’s place in this world and beyond.
For updates and screenings go to: unidentifiedobjectsfilm.com

Deadstream / Film School Radio interview with Co-Directors Vanessa Winter & Joseph Winter

DEADSTREAM follows a disgraced internet personality, Shawn Ruddy (Joesph Winter) who attempts to win back his followers by live-streaming one night alone in a haunted house. But when he accidentally pisses off a vengeful spirit, his big comeback event becomes a real-time fight for his life. With DEADSTREAM, a rare horror comedy as frightening as it is funny, the Winters have boldly announced themselves as exciting emerging talent ready to take the genre scene by storm. The work of the filmmaking duo can next be seen in a segment from Shudder’s hotly-anticipated V/H/S/99, the latest installment in the celebrated found-footage horror series, which premieres out of TIFF’s Midnight Madness later this month. The DEADSTREAM was produced by Joseph and Vanessa Winter, alongside cinematographer Jared Cook and actress Melanie Stone, who also star in the film. Co-directors / co-producers Joseph and Vanessa Winter join us for a conversation on the story behind the making of this wildly entertaining tale laced with humor, spot on performances and genuinely scary happenings, as well as their own foray, with the help of dedicated friends, into hair-raising world of independent filmmaking. 
 To watch Deadstream go to: shudder.com

Tales from the Gimli Hospital (Redux) / Film School radio interview with Director Guy Maddin

A brand new 4K remastering of TALES FROM THE GIMLI HOSPITAL, Guy Maddin’s highly acclaimed first feature first released in 1988 and now regarded as one of the true cult hits on the midnight movie circuit. While their mother is dying in the modern Gimli, Manitoba hospital, two young children are told a tale by their Icelandic grandmother about Einar the Lonely, his friend Gunnar, and the angelic Snjofridur in a Gimli of old. Set during a smallpox epidemic in the village of Gimli, Manitoba near the turn of the century, TALES FROM THE GIMLI HOSPITAL REDUX is a dreamlike, elliptical film which explores the jealousy and madness instilled in two men who share a hospital room “in a Gimli we no longer know.” Director, producer, writer and auteur extraordinaire Guy Maddin (Brand Upon the Brain, The Heart of the World, My Winnipeg) returns to the program to talk about the trials and tribulations of his debut feature film and all that went into pulling together a large cast of professional and non-professional actors, finding ingenious ways of building the sets and filming whenever and however he could.
Updates and screenings go to: zeitgeistfilms.com/talesfromthegimlihospital

Moment of Contact / Film School Radio interview with Director James Fox

In MOMENT OF CONTACT, director James Fox (The Phenomenon), makes his way into Brazil to investigate a sensational 1996 UFO crash. Headlines around the globe exploded with tales of strange creatures reported by military and civilians in the town of Varginha. Riveting testimony from eyewitnesses who revisit the crash site and areas in the city where reported alien survivors were captured is woven together with rare archival interviews, as well as ground-breaking new revelations from former military personnel, including one who worked with the Brazilian Secret Service to transport the alleged extraterrestrials. With the help of local researchers and captivating aerial photography, viewers travel with Fox and his team as they map out the encounters, military blockades, and track down lost witnesses of the Varginha Incident, the modern-day Roswell of Brazil. Ufologist and Filmmaker James Fox (The Phenomenon, Out of the Blue, I Know What I Saw) joins us for a lively conversation on the many twists and turns this sprawling story has taken him and now able to share from the many people who were there in 1996 and now willing, some reluctantly, to talk about a case that remains one of the world’s most compelling close encounters with alien beings.
For news and screenings go to: 1091.tv/moment-of-contact

Gemmel & Tim / Film School Radio interview with Director Michiel Thomas

GEMMEL & TIM explores the lives and untimely passings of Gemmel Moore and Timothy Dean, two Black gay men who both died from meth overdoses at the home of West Hollywood politico Ed Buck. Their deaths at the now-infamous apartment sent shockwaves through the LGBTQ+ community. The ensuing media circus cooked up a spicy concoction of sex, drugs, race and politics, but had no appetite for the in-depth human stories of who these individuals truly were valued. GEMMEL & TIM looks at Gemmel and Tim’s parallel walks of life through the eyes of their extended and chosen families – memories, correspondence, and things they did and didn’t share with each other. Through intimate recollections of their lost friends, each character exposes their own personal journey in dealing with grief. Powerful and galvanizing, Gemmel & Tim simultaneously investigates the crimes and offers a cautionary tale to keep these events from repeating. Director Michiel Thomas joins us for a conversation on cultural, political, and community dynamics that hamstrung the initial investigation and the relentless pursuit of justice by friends and family that eventually brought some semblance of justice for these two young men.
For news and screenings go to: gemmelandtim.com

A Radical Life / FIlm School Radio interview with Director Ricki Stern

Directed by award-winning filmmaker Ricki Stern, “A Radical Life” takes us inside the mind of Tania Joya, a former Islamic extremist once married to the highest-ranking American in ISIS. Tania was a working-class British teenager from a Bangladeshi family when her longing for purpose and belonging following the 9/11 attacks drew her to Islamic extremism. On the other side of the Atlantic, an all-American teenager from a military family named John Georgelas was also radicalizing - casting off his Greek Orthodox heritage and embracing Islamic extremism. After Tania and John met online, they quickly got married and started raising sons who they hoped would help fulfill their shared dreams of establishing an Islamic State. But when Georgelas relocates the family to Syria at the height of civil war, Tania is forced to make an impossible choice. Set against a backdrop of an ongoing war on terror, the rise of ISIS, and the proliferation of extremism ideologies, Tania’s unique and exclusive POV takes us inside a journey fueled by blind devotion, false promises, and misguided idealism that leads to points of no return. Award-winning director, producer, writer Ricki Stern joins us for a conversation on meeting Tania Joya, deciding to making her the focus of a documentary, illuminating the larger context of jihadism and Islam and what we can learn from Joya’s story.
To watch go to: discoveryplus.com/a-radical-life-us
DEBUTS OCTOBER 13, 2022 ON DISCOVERY+
For info go to: originalproductions.com/show/a-radical-life